Friday, February 17, 2006

Proof positive that no matter what kind of computer you use, if you're dumb enough to install an unfamiliar program, you will be in trouble:

"A rare piece of malicious software targeting Apple's Mac OS X operating system -- instead of the more common victim, Microsoft Windows -- has been spotted online and appears to be spreading. Like many computer viruses, the bug lures people to click on it by posing as something else, in this case a file containing a picture of the next-generation Apple operating system.

"The malicious software causes computer programs to crash and transmits itself through an instant message program for the Mac called iChat. To get infected, users must download the file, called "latestpics.tgz," and install it on their computer...

"'Whoever wrote this isn't particularly skillful,' said Andrew Welch, president of Ambrosia Software Inc., a firm that develops programs for Macs. 'It's not a very viral virus, I'll put it that way.'

"Welch examined the code and tested it on a few computers. He said the 'malware' failed to work on most of the machines he tried to infect with it. Computer security researchers agreed that the threat level posed by this bug is relatively low but said the malicious software could inspire more potent copycats and mark a new era of threats for previously secure Mac users."